PUBLIC FORUM : IT'S ALL ABOUT GREED.

The letters from the teen-agers who believe the '90s decade is a rough time to be in high school were well done. The problem with today's teens is not communicating with their parents. The kids are bored. They ask for and get anything their little hearts desire. They have TVs, computers, pagers, cell phones, stereos, CDs, video games, new cars, the use of plastic credit cards, name-brand clothing, etc. It's all about greed. Both parents have to work to provide this and more, so their kids can be ``cool'' in school!

I was a '40s teen-ager attending a Los Angeles area high school. We also had our problems. We were stressed, and we had our share of pain and hurts also.

We had World War II - boys in our classes going to war. We had food and gas rationing. We wore resoled shoes and last year's clothing. We had our cliques, nerds and jocks. We also had our gangs, with boys in zoot suits, and their girlfriends who carried knives for them in their hair swept up in pompadours. We held our jitterbug hops, football games and even our proms in the early afternoons because, when the sirens blasted, it was blackout time - meaning every light in the city went off. We could not chew gum or candy in classes. If caught smoking, we got two warnings. A pregnant girl was automatically expelled, and condoms weren't discussed in class.

We shared schools with Latinos - called Spanish then - and with African-Americans and Jews, and we watched in disbelief as the kids of Japanese ancestry were hauled off to camps for the duration of the war.

We were lucky. We saluted the flag each morning, had prayer in school, had respect for parents and teachers, and had moms who stayed home and listened to our problems. We enjoyed our dates in movie theaters without hearing those four-letter words. On graduation day, we cried for our missing boys who had already lost their lives in the war.

That was more than 50 years ago, and God help us all if something doesn't change during the next 50 years!

- Arline Sutliff

Mission Hills

History's lessons

Nothing that the anti-gun folks say can explain the fact that in previous decades and centuries, when guns were far more freely available in this country than they are now, there were no such things as school massacres.

Clearly, the problem is not that weapons are available, but rather the problem is in the mind-set of our society. History shows that success is very difficult to survive. Greek, Roman, Chinese and other countries' histories all indicate the same pattern of effort, success, foolishness, failure and disaster. We must take great care that the hard-earned and amazing success of our own country does not repeat the same pattern.

It seems that most societies are not able to survive success, the removal of survival stress. Without stress, people tend to lose touch with reality, to relax moral codes and to become very self-centered.

We need to recognize and act on the fact that a civilized, humane society cannot be built with a population of individuals who recognize no greater good than their own gratification.

We need to recognize that freedom for individuals cannot and will not exist unless individuals assume personal responsibility for their actions. We need to recognize that a moral code is absolutely essential to the success of our society.

- David A. Breetwor

Sun Valley

Focus on home

Like all Americans, I am distressed, shocked and saddened by this latest shooting - truly a massacre in Littleton, Colo.

And even though President Clinton decries this outrage and promises to do something to prevent such atrocities, it is not up to the federal government. Teen-age behavior is clearly the responsibility of the parents. My heart aches and mourns for the parents of the boys who killed so senselessly. Yet they must shoulder the blame for not knowing the direction their boys were taking. Only when the American home is returned to its rightful place, as the center for moral teaching of each succeeding generation, will we see the end of this terminal, destructive behavior in the young.

- W.D. Stewart

Quartz Hill

Hugs and discipline

I too was impressed with the perspicacity of the teen essay writers on the subject of the Littleton tragedy.

I was much less impressed with the blindness of Jeff Jacoby, who preaches ``Discipline, not more hugs'' (Opinions, April 27). I hope every parent knows that children need both discipline, limit setting, and hugs: hand holding, nonjudgmentalism, self-esteem building, teaching of constructive ways to express anger, etc. To suggest only discipline is necessary is downright irresponsible.

- Alan Pollack

Woodland Hills

What would change?

A live-fire demo at a press conference? Give me a break. The political grandstanding of Gov. Gray Davis and the rest of the gun-control crowd is just sickening. Do they really think I am stupid enough to believe that the carnage in Littleton would have been less if the killers had used a different type of firearm? Or if they had been required to reload more often because their pistols held nine rounds instead of 12? Or if they had been limited to using only their sawed-off shotguns?

For that matter, suppose no guns at all had been available and they could only have used their homemade explosives? The two biggest mass murders in U.S. history were committed at the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and at the Happyland Social Club in New York City. The first was committed with fertilizer; the second, with a gallon of gasoline. And shall I tell you how easy it is, using nothing but household chemicals, to make enough poison gas to kill all the people a football stadium holds? Why don't you just look it up for yourself on the Internet?

Guns, pipes and propane are no more responsible for the killings in Littleton than pens and paper are responsible for the words of hate in a killer's diary.

- Matthew Storch

Moorpark

Golf course dogs

As a golfer who plays at Hansen Dam Golf Course frequently, I agree that the city needs to do something about the fact that wild dogs roam in the area. There is a family of pit bulls wandering around the area, and I must admit to feeling uneasy when I see one just staring at me as I approach. It appears they live in the wild area. I am not sure if they are fed by employees of the restaurant or how they get their food, but they are usually lying around near the ninth green. By the time I get to the 10th green, I often see them running toward the wild area. This fact needs to be addressed by animal-regulation officials or whatever agency is supposed to control these kinds of situations. I for one would thank them for helping us.

- Walter Esser

Van Nuys

Vouchers won't work

Earl Hutchinson isn't sure himself whether school vouchers work or not (``Teachers union has plenty to worry about,'' Opinions, April 27). Let me help him out: Voucher programs have not been shown to improve student performance. Ever. Multiyear evaluations in Milwaukee and Cleveland have found no academic gains from vouchers.

What has been shown is that in places where large numbers of students are enticed by scholarships to leave the public schools - for example, in San Antonio, Texas - the schools lose revenue that could be used to assist many more students.

But I have a feeling that Hutchinson isn't listening. Stealing a privilege reserved for Daily News editorial writers, he won't be bothered with facts that contradict his opinion. He condemns all Los Angeles Unified School District schools. He blames all public school teachers. And he's made up his mind that vouchers, like 'em or not, are the only alternative.

Wrong again. A better, more sensible option is to give our schools community support and adequate funds to improve. Instead of vouchers, we need smaller classes in all the grades with well-trained teachers working in clean, modern facilities. And what would really push test scores over the top is for parents to partner with our school district's dedicated, hard-working teachers and actively participate in their children's education.

- Steve Blazak

Director of Communications

United Teachers of Los Angeles

Davis needs chance

The Daily News April 26 editorial, ``Davis' message,'' was unfair and unrealistic concerning David Fleming and his public campaign to be reappointed to the California Transportation Commission by Gov. Gray Davis.

We, as voters, gave Davis the right to administer the state government as he sees fit. There are many individuals from the San Fernando Valley who could do a great job solving transportation problems, such as the 101-405 interchange.

Let's give Davis a chance to put his imprint on our state government. I'm sure the next California state transportation commissioner will be from the San Fernando Valley, will be knowledgeable about transportation issues, and will be a person able to work with other commissioners to solve the serious transportation problems in the San Fernando Valley.

- Jack McGrath

Valley Village

Rape pregnancies

I beg to differ with Edmond Mansoor's response to the Vatican's opposition to morning-after pills for the Kosovo rape victims (Public Forum, April 21). He says rape victims should abort many resulting babies because their fathers are monsters and their mothers and their families won't love them.

While I agree that the rapists are monsters, any resulting babies are innocent. And there is an alternative that this writer failed to mention: adoption. If these babies are allowed to be born and are given to the many loving two-parent families who desperately want to adopt a child, they will be spared the need to ask the details of their conception.

Rape victims need support, encouragement and practical help if they become pregnant. They need to see the innocence and humanity of their babies and help through the pregnancy.

- Chris Larson

Simi Valley